tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16086038935161460002024-09-07T14:02:16.112-07:00Musings from the mind of a fantasy author.Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-84936473344580646852020-10-09T12:16:00.007-07:002020-10-09T12:16:51.819-07:00

  The year 2020 will go down in history books, and I'm certain all of us will remember it long after the dust from this pandemic settles. A phenomenon known as the 6-month wall occurs in any sustained crisis, that I'm sure many are feeling about now. We've been in this for a little over that time, and I have personally experienced it during rough times in my past. Long deployments, trainings

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-34664354903998262020-07-15T18:17:00.004-07:002020-07-15T19:51:51.912-07:00

Dear Principal, Educator, or Guardian of Future Learning,   I’m certain that you receive multiple complaints, gripes, and other negative messages daily. I will strive to ensure this is not one of them. This COVID-19 pandemic has seen the best, and the worst of humanity come to the fore. Between worrying about how our economy will survive businesses being closed, to listening to news and

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-7698141159672331852017-02-21T09:32:00.001-08:002017-02-21T12:57:46.806-08:00

     I have kept my mouth shut. I’ve kept quiet. I’ve tried to be that watched pot, and not boil. The pressure has built up, and now it’s time to burst. This nation—this wonderful nation—is wounded. Full disclosure before I move on to my rant: I voted, but not for Hillary, or Donald, or as I called them, Dillary. I didn’t make the decision on who I voted for based on sex. I

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-65560748702335290832015-12-01T12:57:00.000-08:002015-12-01T12:59:00.670-08:00

With all the hate and vitriol being spat out in the media, politics, and the internet, I decided to do something worse. I am starting my own religion! Now, before you start slinging mud, let me say this: I am not doing this for power, monetary gain, or because I’ve received a vision from a burning bush or on a hillside. I’m doing this because I believe in my deepest heart, that this

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-65527165407914074552015-12-01T05:23:00.000-08:002015-12-01T05:23:44.545-08:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've been here. Please excuse the dust. I can't say I'll post regularly, but I plan on posting again! Keep your eyes peeled, and your ears and hearts open. Things are about to get rough.

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-31044548082246449732011-08-04T07:04:00.000-07:002011-08-04T07:47:09.990-07:00

My first post from a foreign country, and when I say foreign, I really mean alien. Being a young man (Please let me keep my illusions) born and living the majority of my life in Utah, this place is... Dead. I know Utah is considered a paradise, but frankly, it is a tropical paradise compared to Kuwait. There is no (and I stress NO) vegetation anywhere in sight. No grass. No trees. There aren't

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-84666640804807308432011-07-16T05:56:00.001-07:002011-08-04T12:48:02.520-07:00

Freedom The crowd gathers, listening, To those who scream so loud, About injustice and the war And how they are not proud Of the men who went to war To combat terror's reign. They sat we have no business there, That we are all insane. They burn our Flag, our Banner true, The symbol of our land, Not thinking of the millions dead So that it could stand. They call our soldiers butchers, And

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-3586906770372648732011-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:002011-06-20T08:38:09.161-07:00

Wow! Talk about a busy few weeks! As many of you know I am going through the beginning pains of a military activation. The tearful goodbyes, the acclimation from a dry climate to a hot & humid one, and then the poorly thought out rules. No leaving post, no alcohol, and of course, no entertainment on post. But that is okay, because I truly don't have time for entertainment. But I didn't start

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-89623963413816421992011-05-13T12:10:00.000-07:002011-05-13T16:41:18.789-07:00

Aaaannnnddd.... I'm back! Sorry for the long delay, but here we go! So over the weekend my mother's laptop went down. (It was a Dell, and despite my many comments on the quality of Dell systems over the years, she has still purchased them because of their price... And has to get new ones every couple years.) Luckily she has a geek in the family (namely me!), and I got to work on it.

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-88348723891088683992011-04-09T18:47:00.001-07:002011-04-09T18:47:35.041-07:00

We know that day will come, When the call to serve will ring. For some it brings fear, And some a sense of well being. We know that day will come, When the call to serve will ring. For others hope will rise, For truth & justice, and freedom bring. We know that when it comes, We will rise to The Call, To leave our families, our lives, And to fight for us all. We know that when it comes, We will

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-86831482409366923052011-03-31T19:15:00.000-07:002011-04-02T16:09:52.815-07:00

Because I have actually had to work for a living these last couple weeks, my blogging & creativity have taken a hit (Unless you count the poem I wrote last night at midnight... Yeah, highly sleep deprived!) If you have been following me, You know why I have been struggling. So in an effort to at least try and stay on top of this whole blogging thing, I have decided to put up the first chapter of

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-6455585112913279902011-03-30T23:29:00.000-07:002011-03-30T23:29:44.838-07:00

I passed a soldier the other day, Talking to his family far away. He gave his love, claiming all would be "alright" They need not fear, he was far from the fight. I asked him why he chose this life, Away from his family and wife, He said it was for their rights, That he would always choose to fight. That day, his words stuck with me, That for their rights, he wouldn't flee. He would fight for

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-16068109537613271052011-03-26T07:02:00.000-07:002011-03-26T07:02:58.664-07:00

Wow! I started to get a great schedule down, blogging on Mondays, editing on Tuesdays, working on my prequel Wednesdays. Thursday was reserved for tying up loose ends. By then I am with my family, and though I love my family dearly, it is impossible to work on my writing with them around. (Note: Yes, today is Friday, and I am around family. It has taken me over 30 minutes just to write this much

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-66399595566505894092011-03-19T08:44:00.000-07:002011-03-19T08:44:15.358-07:00

I have a phrase I use to describe myself. "I am the ultimate geek, minus three things: I don't wear taped together glasses, I don't wear a pocket protector, and I am danged good looking!" (Note: Last part is edited for younger readers.) Yes, I am confident in myself. I know my skills, I know my personality, and I know who/what I want to be. Why, then, do I find myself so nervous when someone is

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-36916999091178908702011-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:002011-03-07T13:21:16.593-08:00

I was once asked if I truly believed that the things I write were real. Since I write fantasy/sci-fi, I had to stop laughing before I could answer. Do I believe that dragons roam the world, and elves are hiding in every forest? Of course not! But afterwords it got me thinking. This subject came up during the recent Life the Universe & Everything event last February and it got me thinking again

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-42659955415719197712011-02-28T08:47:00.000-08:002011-02-28T08:47:58.195-08:00

Okay, so be honest. Who looked at that title and thought, "Wait! That's backwards. You have to crawl before you can walk!" Well, in truth, normally I would agree with you, but when it comes to my writing, this seems to be the pattern I follow. I sit down to write the story, my creative juices flowing, not like a river, but more like a steady stream. Finally after much work and effort, I hand my

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1608603893516146000.post-35059253309068597312011-02-22T13:40:00.000-08:002011-02-22T13:40:16.798-08:00

Okay, so after three wonderful days this last weekend at LTUE (Life, The Universe, & Everything) at BYU, the advice that was most often stated was that social media- i.e. Facebook, blogging, Twitter, etc- was by far the best way for an emerging author to get their name out there. For those who are curious as to why on Earth they would want to follow my ramblings, I'll give you three reasons.

Life Lessonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09913651689656506854noreply@blogger.com1